Some great office drama going down near me today. Well...maybe not GREAT really, but still good for some laughs.

I assume 2 people involved. One is a lady who talks loudly nearby my cube so I can hear her when she's angry...the other is some anonymous person.

Backstory...a month or 2 ago, lady comes by asking a bunch of people if they have seen her bowl/mug type thing. I say no. I see a big sign in the shared kitchen area asking if anyone has seen it. I dont remember what that sign said and whether it was passive aggressive or not. But man she wasn't happy about losing that bowl.

(My thoughts in parenthesis)

Fast forward to last week. I see a BIG sign (we are talking those huge presentation/group meeting sized pieces of paper that you can tear off and tape to the wall) "PLEASE DO NOT (not underlined) Remove containers that DO NOT (underlined) belong to you. THANK YOU.

So, I never knew what happened to the last one, but now it has happened again...so this makes the first time not look so accidental.

Then I see a sign from Anonymous person...typed out and not written. "Don't leave your dirty dishes lying around and they will not get tossed (well that solves the last and this mystery as far as where things went). If you want to live like a pig at home, fine. We all have to use this area. (wow...aggressive),

Then in red pen, on the typed out sign lady responds by writing:

You're Rude - No food is EVER (double underline) in the container overnight! (so you leave your mess there for everyone during the day? It is a small sink and their are a lot of ppl who use it) DONT touch what doesn't belong to you. (getting aggressive back)

So I went home for the weekend and come back in this monday. Lady has a new sign...typed this time:

(Red bold text)

The definition of STEALING: TO TAKE the property of another WITHOUT RIGHT OR PERMISSION. TO COMMIT THEFT.

(Back to normal text)

THIS IS A PUBLIC/COMMUNITY KITCHEN. YOU DO NOT (underlined) OWN IT. THEREFORE, MIND YOUR OWN AND NOBODY ELSE'S.

(Then lady in handwriting)

Feel free to stop by my cube to discuss, (signs her name)

Anonymous responds

(normal typed out note)

Just wash your dishes and everyone will be happy. It is very unsanitary, not to mention disgusting to see your dirty dishes sitting there day after day. They will be removed. Period.

Since this AM - Lady removed all the signs. I think she took them down...could have been someone else. I was hoping for more. Good stuff. The lady does leave her bowl in the sink and has (I suppose accidentally) left it overnight before. But still, leaving it in the small sink from lunch to whenever you leave while a lot of people are trying to use it...that could get annoying (I don't really ever use the sink...only to rinse out my mug when I go to get coffee). But throwing something out? Ha...that's bold and probably not the best way to handle things. Must have been eating away at that person for a while.

We have similar drama in our office from time to time, altho it never resorts to sign posting.

People where I work tend to put stuff in the fridge and then forget they put it there. Things like.... milk. That spoil. Smell. Ew. So our office manager (who is tasked with keeping that fridges clean) will periodically send out a nastygram email saying that unmarked food items will be thrown out on x day. This usually prompts people to put a piece of tape on whatever it is they have with their name on it. All's good.

Except one time about six months ago the lady thew out my insulated soft lunch bag that had like five jars of hot sauce in it, and which had been quite clearly-labeled.

tifosi77 wrote:We have similar drama in our office from time to time, altho it never resorts to sign posting.

People where I work tend to put stuff in the fridge and then forget they put it there. Things like.... milk. That spoil. Smell. Ew. So our office manager (who is tasked with keeping that fridges clean) will periodically send out a nastygram email saying that unmarked food items will be thrown out on x day. This usually prompts people to put a piece of tape on whatever it is they have with their name on it. All's good.

Except one time about six months ago the lady thew out my insulated soft lunch bag that had like five jars of hot sauce in it, and which had been quite clearly-labeled.

Not happy about that.

Why does hot sauce need to be in the fridge? I'd throw it out too...weirdo! Haha

tifosi77 wrote:We have similar drama in our office from time to time, altho it never resorts to sign posting.

People where I work tend to put stuff in the fridge and then forget they put it there. Things like.... milk. That spoil. Smell. Ew. So our office manager (who is tasked with keeping that fridges clean) will periodically send out a nastygram email saying that unmarked food items will be thrown out on x day. This usually prompts people to put a piece of tape on whatever it is they have with their name on it. All's good.

Except one time about six months ago the lady thew out my insulated soft lunch bag that had like five jars of hot sauce in it, and which had been quite clearly-labeled.

Not happy about that.

Why does hot sauce need to be in the fridge? I'd throw it out too...weirdo! Haha

Ordinarily I'd agree - the pH in hot sauce is such that nothing bad will ever grow in it. But these were all fresh made sauces from various local places, no preservatives or anything. Plus, one of them was so hot that keeping it cold was the only way to make it tolerable.

This reminds me of an email that went out from an intern to the entire building at an old job of mine (entitled: Dear Hungry Co-Worker)

To the Hungry Co-Worker that took my delicious lunch out of the refrigerator yesterday. I'm glad my cooking is being appreciated by someone, but please ask next time and I will be glad to share with you. Could you at least please return my Tupperware container with my name on it.

tifosi77 wrote:We have similar drama in our office from time to time, altho it never resorts to sign posting.

People where I work tend to put stuff in the fridge and then forget they put it there. Things like.... milk. That spoil. Smell. Ew. So our office manager (who is tasked with keeping that fridges clean) will periodically send out a nastygram email saying that unmarked food items will be thrown out on x day. This usually prompts people to put a piece of tape on whatever it is they have with their name on it. All's good.

Except one time about six months ago the lady thew out my insulated soft lunch bag that had like five jars of hot sauce in it, and which had been quite clearly-labeled.

Not happy about that.

Why does hot sauce need to be in the fridge? I'd throw it out too...weirdo! Haha

Ordinarily I'd agree - the pH in hot sauce is such that nothing bad will ever grow in it. But these were all fresh made sauces from various local places, no preservatives or anything. Plus, one of them was so hot that keeping it cold was the only way to make it tolerable.

Ha, nice...sounds awesome. I love me some hot sauce, but I am not a connoisseur (had to look that up, forgot how to spell!). I just love the way Frank's Red hot tastes on different things.

Are you talking fresh, liquid type stuff or more chunky/salsa type pepper concoctions? Different types of red sauce/peppers or you into the green and other color type stuff?

cheesesteakwithegg wrote:This reminds me of an email that went out from an intern to the entire building at an old job of mine (entitled: Dear Hungry Co-Worker)

To the Hungry Co-Worker that took my delicious lunch out of the refrigerator yesterday. I'm glad my cooking is being appreciated by someone, but please ask next time and I will be glad to share with you. Could you at least please return my Tupperware container with my name on it.

Thanks,

I forget who it was, but after relaying my original story to another coworker, they told me of a time where someone stole a lunch in the office and the victim then posted a sign that said something along the lines of "this is who you are stealing lunch from" - and attached a picture of their most recent ultrasound with the baby.

cheesesteakwithegg wrote:This reminds me of an email that went out from an intern to the entire building at an old job of mine (entitled: Dear Hungry Co-Worker)

To the Hungry Co-Worker that took my delicious lunch out of the refrigerator yesterday. I'm glad my cooking is being appreciated by someone, but please ask next time and I will be glad to share with you. Could you at least please return my Tupperware container with my name on it.

Thanks,

I still have that.. I can get it back to them if they like.. the tupperware lid melted a little in the dishwasher though.

cheesesteakwithegg wrote:This reminds me of an email that went out from an intern to the entire building at an old job of mine (entitled: Dear Hungry Co-Worker)

To the Hungry Co-Worker that took my delicious lunch out of the refrigerator yesterday. I'm glad my cooking is being appreciated by someone, but please ask next time and I will be glad to share with you. Could you at least please return my Tupperware container with my name on it.

Thanks,

I forget who it was, but after relaying my original story to another coworker, they told me of a time where someone stole a lunch in the office and the victim then posted a sign that said something along the lines of "this is who you are stealing lunch from" - and attached a picture of their most recent ultrasound with the baby.

They usually only throw away food and stack everything else (lunch bags etc) outside the fridge for a week. Once, there was a pot of macaroni and cheese there. The whole pot. Lid and all. (there are no stoves, to my knowledge, anywhere in this office building)

You should make a ransom letter and mail it to the lady who is missing the bowl. Take a picture of a similar bowl, and cut out assorted letters from newspapers and magazines to make it look really authentic.